Wisconsin residents sue Microsoft over noise caused by new data center
Residents near Microsoft’s Fairwater data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging excessive noise pollution from the facility. The plaintiffs, from Sturtevant, also cite concerns about dust, light pollution, and increased traffic due to the data center's construction and operation. This legal action follows previous complaints to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Microsoft's own attempts to mitigate noise.
Residents living near Microsoft’s Fairwater data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging excessive noise pollution. The suit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, names three residents of Sturtevant, a nearby village, as plaintiffs. They claim Microsoft's operation of the data center emits "unreasonable and excessive noise," causing property damages through private nuisance and negligence, and accuses the company of failing to implement adequate acoustic barriers.
The lawsuit highlights complaints received by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and details noise sources from diesel generators, HVAC systems, chillers, cooling towers, and fans. Beyond noise, residents also report issues with dust from construction, light pollution, and increased traffic. Long-time resident Larry Neumiller described the area as a "dust bowl" due to construction dust, while Roger Johansen lamented the loss of night sky visibility from bright lights. Brian Schue, another resident, is considering moving due to the cumulative impact.
Microsoft acknowledged the lawsuit, stating it is "committed to being a good neighbor." The company previously investigated noise complaints in April, identifying cooling fans as the source of a humming noise, and announced in June that mitigations had "fully resolved the issue." Sean Ryan, Mount Pleasant village communications director, stated the village had not received noise complaints since these changes.
Despite resident complaints and the new lawsuit, the Fairwater data center has the support of local leadership. Mount Pleasant Village President David DeGroot called the data center's opening a "historic milestone" for Mount Pleasant and Racine County.